Mathew Jonson - Symphony for the Apocalyspe

Mathew Jonson - Symphony for the Apocalyspe
It’ll probably be a long time before the clear theme of 2008 emerges, if one does. For the moment, the only broad trend seems to be a continuation in interest of old school sounds made new. In one small microcosm of the dance universe, though, many artists seem to be of the same mind: an awful lot of techno/dubstep fusion records these days seem to focus on the end of days. For example, Shackleton has just released ‘Death Is Not Final’ and Peverelist ‘Infinity Is Now’.

On this 12-inch, Mathew Jonson weighs in with one of the first tracks that tries seriously to bridge the gap between dubstep and techno, except from the other direction: Twin Cobras is a techno track that incorporates aspects of dubstep, rather than the other way around. (Dub/Deep techno doesn’t count, of course, being techno made in a dubby rather than specifically dubstep fashion.) As such, it’s the more unusual of the two sides here, leaving out the kick drum in favour of a dubstep style broken beat that wraps itself around two rival basslines. It’s ten minutes long, using only the slightest trace of melody as a counterpoint to the sinewy unfurling of percussion and bass. Unfortunately, the technical virtuosity here isn’t put to very good use—that aforementioned melody is a tad uninteresting and the track lacks structure. As a listener, you’re hard pressed to predict just how far from the end you are at any given point, and there isn’t enough tension to make the long listening time feel justified.

On the flip, Jonson is more on home turf, and more fully in command. 'Symphony for the Apocalypse' uses a more conventional structure, introducing itself with a mournful, vaguely subcontinental sounding horn which builds slowly to a back-loaded climax of squealing synths that is all intensity. In short, this tune pretty much does what it says on the tin, which is not a paltry accomplishment for something labeled “Symphony For The Apocalypse”.

More on Mathew Jonson

Mathew Jonson really is one of a kind.
He's developed one of the most distinctive voices in electronic dance music: when you hear one of Jonson's tracks, you almost immediately know it's his. And yet there's no mistaking any given track for another...
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